Test Of Strength
by VibeQuake
Summary: A simple mission turns sour for a landing party when they get locked in a creepy castle. With Spock and Bones being hunted by an animate suit of armour, Kirk and Vivian trapped in a room with a dropping temperature, and Tonia giving birth with only Scotty to help her, they will need all their wits and skills to survive. Includes an OC.
1. A New Planet

"How's everything looking down there?" Captain Jim Kirk asked his landing party.

Far down on the planet's surface, First Officer Spock attempted to reply, but CMO Leonard McCoy snatched the communicator from him and demanded, "Is Tonia okay?"

A very round-bellied Tonia McCoy, Bones's wife, couldn't supress a smile as Kirk shot her a half-exasperated, half-amused glance over Bones's question. "Leonard, the baby isn't due for another two weeks," she said with a chuckle.

Bones ignored the quite put-out look Spock was giving him. "I know," he said defensively. "But some women have delivered more weeks than that early."

"Really, Doctor, for such a medically minded man as yourself, you are acting rather illogically," said Spock, gently taking the communicator back from the doctor. "To answer your question, Captain, the planet's surface is very dry and barren, much like a desert."

"That's what the scanners picked up," agreed Kirk. "If you see anything out of the ordinary, don't hesitate to report it."

Again before Spock could reply, Bones leaned in to the communicator's mouthpiece and said, "And if anything happens to you, Toni, if you feel anything, you have to tell me."

Kirk covered his eyes in exasperation. Grinning, Tonia said, "I will, Leonard, just focus on your mission."

"Alright," said Bones grudgingly.

Spock closed the communicator and addressed Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, who was scanning the ground. "Anything?"

"No, sir," replied the Scotsman. "The scanner isn't pickin' anythin' up."

"Notify me if it does."

"Will do, Mr Spock."

Spock turned to look at the final member of their landing party: Vivian Walker, their expert biologist and geologist. The brown-haired woman was on her knees and elbows, closely examining a small rock on the ground with her scanner.

"Miss Walker, if I may venture a question: what exactly is it about this rock that fascinates you so much?" Spock asked.

"It's the only one of this colour," replied Vivian in her English accent.

Spock glanced around at all the other rocks in the vicinity. To his eyes, they looked exactly the same colour as the one Vivian was examining. "I shall take your word for it. I am certainly not the expert geologist in this landing party."

Bones stared up at the blue sky, narrowing his eyes against the sun. "At least there's a sun," he observed. "Maybe we'll get a tan down here."

"Doctor, the fact that that is your primary concern is worrying to me," Spock stated.

"Whoever said that was my primary concern?" snapped Bones. "Seeing as I am neither a scientist nor a geologist, I wonder why you even brought me along."

"I told you before we left," said Spock. "This is a completely new planet to us, and we don't know what kind of dangers are around here. Therefore, it is best if we have a skilled medical officer such as yourself around in case anything happens."

"Nothing's going to happen." Bones threw his arms out, gesturing to the barren wasteland. "What exactly are you expecting to happen in a barren wasteland like this?"

"As you humans say: it is better to be safe than sorry," said Spock, and not even Bones missed the subtle look in the Vulcan's eye that clearly told Bones that Spock was not going to discuss this further.

Bones shrugged and turned away, his thoughts still on his pregnant wife. He loved her more than anything, and he was so glad that he was getting the chance to be a father for the second time. While he loved Joanna very much too, he wasn't able to be a good father to her while she grew up on Earth and he travelled the universe on the Enterprise. Since Tonia was already a member of Starfleet, they would be able to raise their son or daughter on board the Enterprise.

As he wandered around with his thoughts, he didn't notice that the ground beneath him was breaking. He glanced down at the ground as he heard the cracking sound. The ground suddenly gave way beneath his feet. With a yell, he began to fall.


	2. Injury

Spock whirled round as he heard Bones's yell. He was just in time to see the doctor disappear into the ground.

Vivian and Scotty simultaneously stood up and ran to the edge of the hole, peering in. Spock seized the backs of their shirts and pulled them back as the ground crumbled some more. "Be careful!" Spock warned them.

"But Bones-!" began Vivian.

"It won't help the doctor if you hurt yourselves too," Spock said sternly.

At a safe distance, the three of them looked carefully through the hole. Bones was lying on his back at the bottom of the hole, which was about twenty feet deep, and he was covered in a light coating of sand and dust. "Bones!" Vivian yelled into the hole.

There was no response.

"His eyes are closed, Miss Walker, he's most likely unconscious or he has broken his neck."

Scotty sharply looked up at Spock. "Don't say that!" he snapped.

"We need to check on him," said Vivian worriedly. "Has anyone got some rope?"

Scotty was about to sarcastically say that he always brought rope with him on these missions, when Spock lifted his shirt slightly and brought out a coil of rope that was attached to his belt. As he began to unroll it, he caught sight of Scotty staring at him. "Mr Scott?" he said quizzically.

"I'm not sure whether tae be relieved or worried about ye," said the Scotsman quietly. "I think I'll just stick with being glad yer on our side."

"Thank you, Mr Scott."

Vivian took one end of the rope from Spock and dropped it into the hole. It only just reached. "Will you be strong enough to support me?" she asked.

Spock glanced at Scotty. "If Mr Scott also holds onto the rope, then I think we may be able to manage it."

Scotty took the hint and put two strong hands on the rope in front of Spock's. Vivian gingerly abseiled down into the hole. When she reached the bottom, she quickly got out the scanner attached to her belt and scanned Bones for injuries before she dared touch him.

"Is he okay?" called Scotty.

"He's been knocked out," Vivian reported. "He has a small head injury, but not too bad. And-." She stopped with a gasp.

"What is it?" Spock called down.

"H-his right knee is dislocated quite badly," Vivian stammered, quite freaked out. She had never seen a dislocation before but it was obvious, even to her. "We need someone to pop it back in place."

"I don't know how tae do that," said Scotty with a panicked look at Spock.

"I wouldn't attempt it, myself," Spock admitted. "We'll have to beam someone down from the Enterprise."

"I know the best person for the job, Mr Spock," called Vivian. "Unfortunately, Bones won't agree."

"Why won't I agree?" slurred a familiar voice.

Vivian glanced down and found the doctor to be awake and trying to sit up. She bent down beside Bones and put her hand on his shoulder to force him to stay lying down. "Do you remember what happened?"

Bones blinked heavily. "I-I think so. The ground collapsed, didn't it?"

"You fell twenty feet," Vivian told him. "Your knee's been dislocated, and we need a surgeon to beam down from the Enterprise to fix it. It's just…there's only one surgeon with the combination of steady hands and strength who can do it, and she's-."

Bones had realised before Vivian had finished speaking. "No," he said savagely. "There's no way Tonia's coming down here in her condition."

Tonia had started out on the Enterprise as a yeoman, but she had been trained as a surgeon, and she rose to the rank of medical officer, which was partly the reason Bones had noticed her for the first time.

Vivian was about to argue when Bones suddenly gave a yell of pain. "Why is there so much pain?!" he yelled.

"Your knee is dislocated," said Vivian patiently. "Is it hurting?"

Bones was very close to make a scathing reply but his injury was flaring up too much.

"Miss Walker!" called Spock.

Vivian looked up at him to find him holding an open communicator. "I have explained the situation to the captain, and now Mrs McCoy wants to talk to Doctor McCoy."

Spock underarm-threw the communicator down to Vivian, who skilfully caught it and pressed it to her ear. "Tonia?"

"Is Leonard okay?" asked Tonia's voice worriedly.

"I'll let you speak to him."

Vivian held out the communicator towards Bones, but the CMO snatched it from her with his left hand and held it to his own ear. "Tonia?"

"Leonard, are you okay?" his wife's worried voice asked.

"'M fine," muttered Bones, trying to hide the pain in his voice. "I'm absolutely fine."

"Mr Spock has explained the situation so don't lie to me," said Tonia fiercely. "I'm coming down there."

"Tonia, you are nine months pregnant!" Bones said through gritted teeth. "As your doctor, I order you to stay there."

"And as your wife, I deny your order," came Tonia's firm voice. "I can hear the pain in your voice so don't try and hide it. I'm the only one who can fix your injury so I'm coming. Besides, I'm never one to pass up the opportunity to see the one I love again, and neither are you."

Bones sighed through the pain. It was true: his arguments were only half-hearted because he really did want to see his wife's face again, even though it had only been a few hours since he had last seen her. Besides, his injury was really starting to feel like agony.

"Fine," muttered Bones. "Just be careful, Toni."

Then Captain Kirk's voice came into the communicator. "Bones, would you feel more comfortable if I came with her for protection?"

"Yes please, Jim," Bones said, just before he had to suppress a yell of pain.

However, something must have been emitted from him because Kirk said, "Just hang on, Bones," and his voice was full of sympathy, compassion, and worry. "You'll be fine. We're beaming down now."

"'Kay, just hurry," said Bones quietly.


	3. Where Did That Come From?

The two figures began to materialise about fifty metres away from the hole, on the opposite side to Scotty and Spock, the latter of whom was first to spot them. He pointed. "There they are."

When Kirk and Tonia had fully materialised, Kirk helped the pregnant woman run over the rough sand until they reached the hole.

"No," said Bones as soon as he saw his wife's face looking down through the hole.

"That's a nice way to greet your wife," grinned Tonia.

"Lift me out if you can, but Toni's not coming down here in her condition," Bones snapped.

Vivian winced. "But Bones, we don't know what further damage that could cause to you."

"I'm not having Toni come down here," Bones repeated.

Vivian looked up at Spock, who had apparently heard that. "We could do that," said the Vulcan. "But Miss Walker is correct: that could cause further harm to you, Doctor."

"Leonard-," began Tonia.

"No, you're not coming down here," Bones said for the third time.

"But I don't want to risk further injury on you," Tonia said worriedly.

Spock placed a hand on the pregnant woman's shoulder. "I am confident that we will be able to extract Doctor McCoy from this hole without causing too much extra injury. However, we should be prepared, just in case."

"A-alright." Tonia nodded and looked back down into the hole. "Be careful, Leonard," she called.

Spock and Scotty let out as much of the rope as they could, so that Vivian had enough to work with. The biologist began tying the rope under Bones's arms.

When she had secured him tightly, she stepped back and called, "He's secured."

Spock and Scotty began pulling on the rope. Slowly, Bones was lifted off the ground. Apart from a very tight grimace on his face and a suppressed wince of pain every few seconds, there was nothing from Bones to indicate that he was in too much pain.

When there was enough rope out, Kirk joined Spock and Scotty in pulling. With this extra strength, it was almost no time at all until Bones was lying on the sand at the top of the hole. As Spock and Scotty threw the rope back down to get Vivian out, Kirk knelt down at Bones's head and prepared him for the relocation. Tonia knelt down awkwardly by her husband's side. Bones's eyes opened as he realised he was on firm ground again, and he looked into Tonia's eyes. "Hello beautiful," he said weakly.

Tonia's face broke into a smile, despite the circumstances. Even after they had been married for two years, Bones calling her "beautiful" always made her smile, since she had always been very insecure about her looks.

"This will probably hurt," Tonia told him. He gave her a look. "Okay, it _will_ hurt."

"You don't need to sugar-coat it for me, Toni, I'm a doctor. I know how painful it's going to be."

Tonia nodded. "So perhaps you should think about something to take your-."

She broke off with a quiet gasp as she felt something inside her. Bones immediately tried to sit up, but Kirk held him down firmly but gently. "What is it?" Bones asked urgently.

"Baby kicked," said Tonia with a smile.

She gently took his right hand and placed it on her belly. Bones's face slowly lit up with a smile as he felt the small thing kicking inside his wife. Tonia took this opportunity to quickly wrench her husband's knee back in place with a loud cracking sound. Kirk winced. Bones let out a scream of pain, after which he stared up at his wife. "I wasn't ready," he said, his accusing tone almost lost in the croakiness of his voice.

Tonia grinned sheepishly. "I thought it would be better if you weren't expecting it. Less worrying about it."

Bones thought for a moment. "I guess that's true."

After Tonia had set Bones's knee in a brace that she had brought with her, Kirk helped Bones stand up. "You feeling good enough to walk?" Kirk asked.

Bones shot Kirk a look. "My dislocated knee has been forcefully wrenched back into place about a minute ago, Jim, so yeah, _of course_ I can walk with no problems."

"At least your dry wit is intact," grinned Kirk.

Spock and Scotty both took hold of one of Vivian's hands and helped the biologist climb out of the hole. The six officers grouped together.

"So what now?" asked Vivian. "Go back to the Enterprise?"

"Our mission was to establish whether there is life on this planet," Spock stated. "I would argue that our mission is not yet completed."

"Agreed, Mr Spock," said Kirk. "And as Tonia and I are down here anyway, I suggest we simply stay with you for the remaining duration of the mission. Are we all agreed?"

Everybody nodded except Bones, who protectively linked arms with his wife. It was the closest to an agreement that anyone was going to get from him.

All of a sudden, the sky went dark, though it was just light enough to see. Bones and Tonia gripped each other more tightly.

"What happened to the sun?" Vivian called out.

"Nothing happened to the sun," replied Spock, who was facing the opposite way to everyone else.

Everyone turned to face the same way as Spock and saw that they were standing in the shadow of a massive medieval castle with dark bricks and a sinister look about it.

"How did the scanners miss _that?"_ Kirk asked wonderingly.

"How the devil did _we_ miss that?" Bones snapped. "We've been on this planet for at least three hours now."

"I don't think it comes down to mere appalling observation," said Vivian. "I think it's just been revealed to us."

"I concur," Spock agreed. "Some kind of measure was in place to prevent us from seeing it until the proper time."

"And what _is_ the proper time?" asked Scotty.

"I haven't the faintest idea," Spock replied.

There was a pause as each of the six officers took in the appearance of the castle.

"So do we explore it?" asked Tonia eventually.

Everyone, even Spock, looked towards Captain Kirk, who, after a pause, answered, "I suppose we should. Our mission dictates that we must find out if there is alien life on this planet, and if there's a chance that life may exist inside this castle, then we must explore all possibilities."

"I suggest we be brief, Captain," said Spock. "Since we do have an officer with us in a delicate condition."

Everyone knew he was talking about Tonia, who said, "Don't worry about me. We can take as long as we need to."

But Kirk was nodding. "I agree, Mr Spock. There is no need for us to be longer than fifteen minutes. Half an hour at the most."

"Fifteen minutes? In a castle of this size?" said Scotty incredulously.

"There are six of us," pointed out Spock. "Even if we pair off, logically speaking, we have a good chance of exploring the whole castle in under half an hour."

Bones shot a sideways glance at his wife. He wasn't sure if he wanted Tonia to come into the spooky and potentially dangerous castle, particularly since it had just apparently materialised out of nowhere, but he knew it would be more dangerous to stay outside on her own, or even with an officer to protect her, what with the ground collapsing in some places.

So, with that, the six officers entered the building.


	4. Separation

Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and Vivian all kept their hands on their phasers as they inched into the grand yet dark hallway of the castle. Bones's right knee was still in the brace, and his left arm was linked in his wife's, who was holding Bones's arm tightly, both to reassure him and to help him walk.

When they were all in, the door suddenly slammed shut behind them, making them all jump. Alarmed, Kirk tried the door. It was locked. Spock, Scotty, and Vivian joined their captain in trying to get the door open, but it wouldn't budge, not even with all four officers' strength.

"Great!" Vivian threw her arms up. "Now we're trapped in here."

"What?" gasped Tonia, putting her other hand on her husband's arm.

Getting an idea, Scotty took out his scanner and began scanning the hallway.

"Good thinking, Scotty," said Kirk. "You getting anything?"

"Nothing," replied Scotty.

"It was a good idea," said Vivian, who had her own scanner out. "But something is jamming mine."

Kirk and Spock looked at each other, both of them having had the same nasty thought. Kirk opened his communicator and spoke into it: "Kirk to Enterprise, come in, bridge."

Static.

"Mr Sulu?" Kirk tried. "Lieutenant Uhura?"

Static.

"I thought as much," said Spock. "The same thing that is blocking our scanners is also blocking the signal from our communicators."

"What?" snapped Bones. "So we're trapped in here and we have no way of contacting the Enterprise? What if something happens and we need to be beamed out?" He paused. "What if Tonia goes into labour?"

"Leonard, that probably won't happen," Tonia reassured him.

"But if you do and you need a C-section or something, what then?" Bones persisted.

"Leonard, calm down." Tonia stroked his arm. "The chances of that are low, so we'll just have to cross that bridge if we get to it."

Bones took a deep breath to calm himself. "You're right," he said. "As usual."

Suddenly, a booming voice came echoing through the castle, again making everyone jump: "Welcome to the castle of doom!"

Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and Vivian all held their phasers ready. Tonia and Bones held each other more tightly.

"Surviving will not be easy," continued the clearly-male voice. "How about we start by reducing the playing field?"

Before anybody could realise what the voice meant, trapdoors opened beneath the feet of two of the crew members. With a yell, Kirk and Vivian disappeared into the ground.

"Jim!"

Letting go of Tonia, Bones automatically made a painful move towards where Kirk had just been standing, and immediately an opaque wall grew up from the ground, splitting the four remaining crew members into two groups.

"Tonia!" yelled Bones, who was on the opposite side of the wall to his wife. He hit the wall with his fists as hard as he could, but he didn't even make a dent. "TONIA!"

"Leonard!" came Tonia's faint voice.

Bones pummelled the wall with all his strength until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He kept his fists on the wall and hung his head.

"Tonia…" he muttered.

"Doctor, you must remain calm," said Spock's unwavering voice.

"Jim and Vivian just disappeared into the ground, and now Tonia and Scotty are separated from us!" yelled Bones, angrily turning to look at the Vulcan. "Tonia could give birth any minute! And you're standing there all calm! Acting like _nothing is happening_ , as usual!"

"Doctor, do not force me to use the Vulcan nerve pinch on you," Spock threatened.

Bones forced himself to calm down. He knew Spock was being serious when he threatened to Vulcan-nerve-pinch someone.

On the other side of the wall, Scotty was also hitting the blank material. He cursed. "No give!" he snapped. "No give at all!"

"It's a brick wall," Tonia wheezed. "What do you expect?"

Scotty didn't notice the undertone of pain in her voice.

"Mr Spock!" he yelled. "Doctor McCoy!"

"Scotty?" came Bones's distant voice.

"We're gonna have tae move away fer now," he called, stepping away from the wall. "There's nothin' we can do from here."

"Alright," came Bones's voice. "Look after Tonia, Scotty."

"Will do, Doc."

"Toni, I love you!" called Bones.

"I love you too, Leonard!" Tonia yelled back as loudly as she could manage.

Scotty turned to Tonia and gently took her hand. "Ye need help movin'?" he asked.

Tonia gave a weak smile. "I can walk, Scotty, but an escort would be nice."

Scotty offered the pregnant woman his arm. Tonia took it and was helped along the corridor. When they got to a T-junction, Scotty left Tonia's side and carefully checked both options.

"They don't look very different," said the Chief Engineer. "What do ye think, lassie?"

Tonia thought about this. "If they're not different, then let's just go right. What's the worst that could happen?"

"That's not a question ye want to be askin' in here, lassie," said Scotty with a grimace. "But right it is."


	5. Not So Cool

Kirk sat up, rubbing his head. The last thing he remembered was falling and hearing Bones yelling his name. He must have been knocked out.

He looked dizzily around and caught sight of Vivian, who was lying on her side a little way away. His limbs not responding properly, Kirk crawled over to his science officer and checked her throat for a pulse. He breathed out when he found one, and almost immediately after that, Vivian stirred and opened her eyes to see Kirk looking down at her.

"Captain? Are you okay?"

Kirk nodded. "I think so. Yourself?"

"I have a major headache, but I think everything else is functioning as normal."

"Are we talking about your body or the Enterprise?" teased Kirk.

Vivian chuckled and rolled her eyes. Kirk helped her sit up. "Where are we?" she asked.

Kirk looked around the room. There was what seemed to be a thermometer on the wall, but there was nothing else in the room, apart from the hole in the ceiling that they had just fallen through, which was now barred over, making it look like a vent. Perhaps that was what it was.

"I don't know," replied Kirk. "But there doesn't seem to be a door, so we're stuck in here for the time being."

"Great," sighed Vivian, shuffling until she was sitting with her back against the wall.

Kirk did the same until he was sitting next to her.

There was a pause. "What does the thermometer say?" Vivian asked.

Kirk got up and went to check. "Uh…twenty degrees Celsius."

"Doesn't feel like it," Vivian commented. "So what do we do now?"

"I guess we wait for something to happen," Kirk replied, going back and sitting down where he was.

After a few moments, Vivian found herself rubbing her arms. "Is it just me, or is it getting colder in here?"

Kirk paused, feeling the air with his hands. "I don't think it's just you," he said slowly.

Both Kirk and Vivian looked up to see perceptible white mist flowing into the room from the vent above their heads.

"Is that the kind of thing you had in mind?" Vivian asked sardonically.

Their eyes turned to look at the thermometer, which now showed the figure 0.

"If that temperature gets below forty degrees, we won't last an hour," stated Vivian, who could already see her breath.

Kirk looked at her in alarm. "You mean…?"

"Yep. If that gets any lower, we're going to freeze to death."


	6. Following Suit

His knee still giving him trouble walking, Bones warily followed a phaser-wielding Spock down the corridor. His nerves were on edge since being separated from Tonia. He was sure he would be more relaxed if she wasn't about to give birth: Tonia was ferocious when she was given cause to be, even a six-month-pregnant Tonia. But she was two weeks away from giving birth, and no woman would be able to defend herself in that state. And he wasn't entirely sure that Scotty on his own would be able to defend her, even though he had a phaser, because they had no idea what was lurking in this castle.

All of a sudden, something grabbed the back of Bones's shirt and he couldn't move. Normally he would investigate, but since his fear was already heightened, he panicked and cried out, "Spock! _Spock!_ "

The Vulcan hurried back along the corridor to find Bones struggling against the thing that was holding him back. "Doctor, calm yourself," he commanded.

Bones forced himself to be still.

"Your shirt has just gotten caught on this suit of armour's gauntlet."

Spock began to gently pull the doctor's shirt out of the suit of armour's hand. _Strange,_ he thought. _Doctor McCoy was walking behind me. Why didn't_ I _get stuck first? And…his shirt is somehow caught in the armour's hand as if it is holding onto him. But how? It's almost as if the suit of armour moved…_

Even for Spock, that was a rather spooky thought, so he pushed it to the back of his mind and wrenched Bones's shirt out of the armour's grip.

"Thanks, Spock," Bones said quietly. "I guess I'm just jumpy."

"I assure you, Doctor, you are not the only one."

Knowing that that was the closest Spock was going to come to admitting that he was scared, Bones heaved a sigh and continued following Spock down the passageway. However, he felt like he was being watched. He turned to look behind him but before he could properly see anything, he walked into something. He turned his head and leapt backwards in alarm at what he saw.

"Really, Doctor, we won't make much progress if you get scared at every little thing," said Spock, sounding slightly irritated, though there was the hint of a smile on his face.

Bones, however, looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "S-Spock," he began. "The suit of armour behind us has moved."

He pointed to the suit of armour that he had just bumped into.

"It is a medieval castle, Doctor," Spock pointed out. "There are probably going to be suits of armour along every corridor in this place."

"Do you see any other suits of armour, though?" Bones asked.

Spock scanned the corridor. "No," he admitted.

"Not one?"

"Not one, apart from this one here."

"Exactly," said Bones, who was beginning to get a little nervous. "There was one behind us that I got caught on, remember?"

Beginning to understand, Spock took another look behind them. The suit of armour that had caught Bones's shirt was nowhere to be seen. Now that he thought about it, the armour in front of them really did look a lot like the previous one, though its arm was no longer outstretched.

"Spock?" said Bones, stepping backwards.

"I recommend we continue on," Spock replied. "And see if the suit of armour follows us anymore."

Bones nodded. "I hope you know what you're doing." Spock began walking again and Bones trailed after him. "Because I don't fancy being murdered by a suit of armour."

"As usual, Doctor, your optimism is unparalleled."

Bones frowned. "Was that sarcasm coming from you, Spock? _You,_ a Vulcan?"

The corner of Spock's mouth turned up slightly, but that was the only response Bones got to his question.

The two officers turned to the left at the next T-junction and immediately had to stop to avoid running into a suit of armour.

"Spock?" Bones glanced warily over his shoulder to check. "The suit's gone."

"Indeed," muttered Spock. "Then it seems that this suit of armour is, in fact, following us."

No sooner had he said this than the armour, moving on its own, drew its sword and lifted it into the air.

"Spock?"

"Doctor, run!" commanded Spock.


	7. Bad Timing

Scotty and Tonia were making good progress down the castle corridors when they came to another T-junction.

"I wonder if the choices we're makin' are affectin' our chances of survival," Scotty said thoughtfully, again examining each option.

Tonia stepped back, her hand pressed to her lower belly, taking deep breaths. It took a good minute for Scotty to notice this.

"Ye alright, lassie?"

"I-I think my waters broke," stammered Tonia.

Scotty stared at her. "What does that mean?" he asked.

The distressed look Tonia was giving him told him pretty much all he needed to know, but the pregnant woman said it anyway: "My labour's starting. The baby's coming. _Now_."

Scotty tried not to panic. "I-I'll help in any way I can, but y-yer gonna have to help me owt here; I have _no_ idea what tae dae."

"I-I need a room," Tonia said, also trying to remain calm. "And preferably a bed."

"Alright, I'll find one for ye."

Scotty took Tonia's arm again and helped her along the left passage. Scotty peered into every room they came across, until he found what looked like a servant's quarters. There was a simple bed in the corner, and the door was lockable.

That was good enough for Scotty.

He helped Tonia lie down on the bed, and then he locked the door while she prepared herself for the birth.

"Do ye need any water?" Scotty asked, spotting a medieval yet unmistakable tap in the corner.

"A little would be nice," coughed Tonia.

Scotty filled an old metal goblet with water from the tap—which was mercifully connected up—and gave it to Tonia. While she sipped at it, Scotty pulled a simple chair over to her bedside and sat down on it. Just then, Tonia dropped the goblet with a cry of pain, making Scotty nearly fall off his chair in alarm.

"Wh-what is it?"

"C-contractions," Tonia wheezed. "Perfectly normal."

"Th-that's good," Scotty stammered nervously.

This was way more complicated than what he usually did. Complex machines and starships, he could fix. Easy. A woman in labour? He had absolutely no idea what to do, and the whole situation terrified him. What if Tonia needed something crucial that he couldn't give or didn't know how to do? How could he face Doctor McCoy if his wife and/or baby died? Especially if it was because of something Scotty either didn't do or did wrong?

Some of his fears must have shown on his face; Tonia reached out a shaking hand and put it on Scotty's arm. "I'm the one who should be scared, Scotty," grinned Tonia. "Don't worry, I was a midwife before I joined Starfleet. I know everything that needs to happen, and I know you don't know much about this, so I'll try and keep your involvement in this down to just encouragement and simple tasks."

Scotty gave a nod and a brief smile. "Thanks, but ye don't have to do that. Ye just tell me if ye need anything."

Tonia nodded. "I will. I-I just wish we could contact Leonard and tell him."

As Tonia grimaced against the pain of another contraction, Scotty had an idea. "Maybe we can…!" he said.

"What?"

"The communicators can't reach the Enterprise, but perhaps they can reach each other!"

Scotty got out his communicator and stared at it. "If I can adjust the frequency to only broadcast in the immediate vicinity instead of to outer space, I think we can contact Doctor McCoy."

"Do it," croaked Tonia. "Please."

"Aye." Scotty began fiddling with his communicator. "That I will."


	8. No Way Out

The temperature in the room was now down to minus ten where, thankfully, it seemed to have stopped for now. Kirk and Vivian were huddled together against the wall, sitting very closely for warmth.

"I did not picture this to be the way I died," admitted Vivian, watching her breath billow out between every word. "I thought I'd die for sure last year when I was hit with that arrow, but Doctor McCoy saved my life."

"Bones has saved everyone's life at least once at some point," Kirk grinned. "He has his uses, but he's so stubborn that his last words when he dies will probably be an insult towards Spock. We'd finally have some peace and quiet from their bickering."

Vivian grinned weakly. "Yeah, you say that, but you'll miss him when you die."

"We're not going to die in here," said Kirk, his tone suddenly changing. "I won't let us die in here."

"How?" Vivian asked miserably. "There's no way out."

Kirk suddenly stood up. Vivian drew her arms and legs into herself, trying to keep warm. Kirk went over to the wall and began tapping on it with his knuckles, just softer than if he was knocking on a door.

"What are you doing?" inquired Vivian.

"This room can't have been built without a door," Kirk replied, knocking on a brick higher up. "It makes no sense for a room in a castle, one that was presumably very much in use in its time, to be built without a door, even a freezer room like this. If there is a door, then it'll be a weaker structure than the wall."

"If we could find where the door used to be, we could break through," realised Vivian.

"Exactly," said Kirk. "While I do this, you find something we can use to hit the door with for extra strength."

Vivian stood up and shook the feeling back into her legs and arms. As she did, she happened to glance up and spot the vent above their heads. There was a hinge on the side of the barred opening, so that meant the heavy metal vent top could probably be pulled off.

"Give me a boost," she said.

Kirk turned to look at her, and she indicated the vent. His eyes flicked upwards and he seemed to understand what she was saying.

"Are you sure?"

"It's our best hope," she replied.

Kirk positioned himself in the right place, then he knelt down and held out his hands together, palm up. "You sure you can make it to that height?" he asked.

Vivian shrugged, trying to hide her growing nerves. "I guess we'll find out."

With that, she ran at Kirk and jumped. As her feet connected with Kirk's hands, the captain used all his strength to catapult her upwards. With all her fingers and thumbs, Vivian managed to catch hold of the small bars over the vent. Kirk jumped up and caught her legs, his own feet just slightly off the ground. The vent was unable to carry both Starfleet officers, so the barred top broke and sent Kirk and Vivian down with it. Kirk landed on his feet, since he had only been about ten inches off the ground, but Vivian landed hard on her back, only just avoiding being hit by the grate.

"Are you okay?" Kirk asked, helping her up.

"I'm fine," Vivian replied. "Now let's get on with finding that door."


	9. Communication

Bones scrambled backwards in alarm, incurring pain from his leg as he did. The armour brought down the sword in the place where Bones had just been. Spock took hold of Bones's wrist and pulled him along, as the Vulcan and the doctor ran down the right hand path of the T-junction. A quick glance behind them told Spock that the armour was most definitely following them properly now.

"Okay, that's creepy," wheezed Bones, whose injury was starting to hurt again.

Spock let go of Bones's wrist in order to gain more speed, but he didn't know that in doing so, he had just lost the doctor the only thing that was keeping him running. Now that there was nothing pulling him along, Bones wasn't able to keep up with Spock's pace. The armour hit Bones in the back with the handle of its sword, sending the doctor tumbling to the ground with a yell of pain.

Hearing his yell, Spock turned and caught sight of his friend's predicament: Bones was propped up on his elbows, one hand in front of his face for protection, while the armour prepared to bring its sword down.

Grabbing a sword from the display on the wall, Spock charged and blocked the blow that the armour flung at Bones. The Vulcan then swung his own sword and sliced the armour in two from the waist. Bones stared shakily as the suit crumbled.

Dropping the sword, Spock held out a hand to the doctor, who took it, and helped him to his feet. Bones hissed as he put weight on his knee.

"Are you all right, Doctor?"

"I don't think I'll be able to walk unaided, Spock," Bones replied through gritted teeth. "I certainly won't be able to run for the foreseeable future."

There was a clanking of metal as the suit of armour began to put itself back together.

"Then I suggest we make a start," said Spock.

With that, Spock slung Bones's left arm over his shoulder and the two officers began their steady walk down the corridor. They darted into a room and Spock locked the door. As he set about creating a barricade, Bones hobbled over to a chair and sat down. It felt like hours since he had last sat down, probably because it was.

Spock picked up an identical chair and wedged it under the doorknob.

"Because that's what everyone does with their chairs," Bones commented sarcastically.

Spock threw him a look. "Doctor, I am trying to prevent the suit of armour from breaking in here and killing us both. It is the most logical thing to do with the chair at this precise moment."

"Boy, have I missed you saying the word "logical"," muttered Bones.

As Spock searched the room, Bones suddenly heard a familiar noise.

"Is that a communicator?" Spock asked from the other side of the room.

"Yeah," replied Bones slowly.

He fished his communicator from his satchel and pressed it to his ear. "Doctor McCoy."

"Doc, you're okay!" came a familiar Scottish voice.

Bones stood up sharply and immediately regretted it, but his surprise and delight far outweighed the pain in his leg. "Scotty!"

Spock turned and stared at him.

"Is Tonia still with you?"

"Aye, but she's gone into labour, and I have no idea what tae dae."

Bones actually dropped the communicator in shock. Spock swooped in and picked it up and began talking to Scotty. Bones forced himself to keep calm. _Come on, Leonard, she may be your wife, but she's a patient giving birth and she needs a doctor. She may be a trained midwife, but she won't be able to speak through the pain of contractions, so you have to instruct Scotty on what to do._

Spock was in the middle of a sentence when Bones snatched the communicator from him and barked into it, "Scotty, I'm gonna need you to do everything I tell you to do or Tonia might die."

There was a pause on the other end, and Bones was afraid the connection had already been terminated, when Scotty's voice said, "No pressure, then."

Bones smiled, despite himself. "No, none at all."


	10. Don't Lose Hope

Vivian sighed and began doing star jumps to keep herself warm. "We've been doing this for two hours now, and we haven't found any door," she said. "I don't know if you've noticed but the temperature is now minus twenty, and we're both only wearing one layer. If we don't find a way out soon, we're going to freeze."

"Yes, I know," snapped Kirk.

The low temperature combined with Kirk's own lack of success was making him snappy and irritable. "Come on," he muttered. "There's gotta be a door. It makes no sense for there to not be one."

"We've only got one wall left," said Vivian. "Can't we just throw the metal grate at the wall?"

"You're welcome to try it," said Kirk, and Vivian couldn't actually hear any sarcasm in his voice. "Honestly, I'm accepting any ideas at this point, but I don't think it'll work."

"It'll keep me warm for a few more minutes, at least," decided Vivian.

She picked up the grate and spun round a couple of times like she was throwing an Olympic hammer, and then she let it go. It went flying at the wall, only just missing Kirk, and made a rather small dent in the plaster.

"Maybe if I do that ten more times, I could break through," Vivian said hopefully.

"And how many more times do you think you physically _could_ do that?" Kirk asked, having moved on to knocking on the last wall.

Vivian sighed. "Nowhere near ten, that's for sure."

She slumped down on the floor next to the wall again and curled up on her side, closing her eyes.

There was a small click as the temperature on the thermometer dropped to minus thirty.

Vivian protected all the limbs she could, but she was getting incredibly cold and light-headed. "We're done for," she muttered, her head telling her to go to sleep. "If we just give up, maybe the cold won't be as bad."

"No, don't think like that!" Kirk banged on the wall. "There has to be a door! THERE HAS TO BE A DOOR!"

Kirk suddenly kicked the wall in frustration. The place where he kicked it made a significantly different noise than the other places.

"I found it!" gasped Kirk.

He picked up the grating and, doing the same thing Vivian had, flung it at the wall. It made a dent about ten times as large as the one Vivian had made.

"Vivian, I found it!" Kirk ran to his science officer and shook her. "I found it! Help me, quickly!"

But Vivian either could not or would not move. Kirk quickly went back to the grate and threw it again. After two more tries, the wall was weakening. Unfortunately, so was Kirk himself. He only had a little strength left. He picked up the grate one final time, and used all his remaining strength in a burst of explosive energy. As he fell to the floor, he heard a massive crashing sound, which told Kirk his plan was a success.

Immediately after that, he could feel the air getting warmer. It wasn't by much, but it was enough to give him more strength. He went back over to Vivian and pulled the semi-conscious woman upright. Holding her as best he could, he stumbled out of the room and into the corridor. He hobbled as far away from the cold as possible, and when he found a vent in the ceiling that was blowing warm air, he stood himself and Vivian underneath it.

After about ten minutes, Vivian's eyes fluttered open and she was able to stand on her own. The two officers watched colour flood back into their pale and almost blue limbs.

"I am never going to like snow ever again," Vivian declared. "Not after that."

"I agree," Kirk said. "And I am never going to turn the thermostat on the Enterprise down any lower than fifteen degrees ever again."


	11. New Life

"What else can I do?" asked Scotty desperately, washing his hands with the communicator tucked between his shoulder and the side of his head.

"You've done everything brilliantly, Scotty," replied Bones's voice. "Now it's up to Tonia. However, and I know this will probably be very uncomfortable for you, you'll have to stand by her legs and gently pull the baby out when you can see it. Can you do that?"

Scotty swallowed. "Yer right in saying it'll be uncomfortable for me, but I cannae just abandon the lass now. I'll do everything I can."

"Thank you, Scotty," said Bones, sounding grateful. "You have no idea how much this means to me, to have you helping her."

"No problem at all," Scotty replied. "And thank ye for telling me what tae dae. I was so worried I'd dae something wrong."

"Don't worry, Scotty, hopefully this will be the only time you'll ever have to deliver a baby." Scotty could hear the wry smile in Doctor McCoy's voice, but there was obviously an undertone of worry.

Tonia suddenly gave a scream. Scotty rushed over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. The baby was clearly very close to coming.

"It's nearly here," gasped out Tonia.

…

Bones anxiously paced the room, communicator in hand. He could hear his wife's pain, and he didn't like it, but now he was confident that Scotty could handle it. The Chief Engineer had done everything Bones had told him to do, and he was eager to help. Bones wished he could be there himself, but obviously he couldn't, so at least Tonia wasn't alone.

"Doctor, a little help?"

Bones wrenched himself out of his thoughts and saw that Spock was holding the door shut, and something was hitting on it from the outside.

"The suit of armour?"

If Spock was more human or less Vulcan, perhaps he would have made a scathing sarcastic reply. As it was, however, he simply said, "I assume so."

"Great," snapped Bones. "Can you hold it off at least until my baby is born?"

Spock gave Bones what looked like a withering stare. "I will try," he said dryly.

Bones flipped open the communicator again and barked, "Talk to me, Scotty."

"Nearly there, Doc!" came Scotty's shout.

Bones tapped his uninjured foot until he heard the cry of a baby, and his heart almost stopped.

"Toni?" he whispered.

"Yer a father," came Scotty's quiet voice. "Yer a father, McCoy. I'll give ye to Tonia."

There was a pause, and then Tonia's weak voice came through the receiver: "Leonard?"

"Toni, are you feeling okay?" Bones asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Leonard." She sounded like she was smiling. "We have a daughter, Leonard. A beautiful daughter. I'm holding her right now."

"Describe her to me."

"She has a tuft of black hair, your blue eyes, and she's already trying to talk, listen."

There was another pause, then Bones heard the unmistakable cooing of a baby. His heart melted. Even after having delivered a couple of dozen babies in his career, not all of them human, it was still completely heartwarming when a new being took their first breath, not least when it was his own baby.

"Doctor, I would advise you to hurry!" came Spock's voice.

Bones said hurriedly, "Toni, I have to go. Stay safe and I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Love you too."

Bones closed the communicator and wasted a few more precious seconds putting it back into his satchel.

"Doctor!"

"Alright, I'm coming."

"No, get away from the door!"

Spock sounded slightly scared, which terrified Bones, who had only just noticed that Spock was now pressed up against the wall to the left of the door.

Just as the explosion sounded, Bones dived to the left, avoiding both the door and the barricade as they flew backwards and hit the opposite wall with a loud crash.

"What was that?" panted Bones.

Spock helped him up and the two officers pressed their backs against the wall again. "I have reason to believe that the suit of armour has acquired a cannon or something to that effect. Now, when I give the signal, we must both run out of the door as fast as we can. Understand?"

"Yeah, but you're gonna need to pull me along," Bones replied. "Or I won't be able to run."

"Very well."

Bones kept very still as the suit of armour came clunking through the doorway. It stopped in the middle of the room and "looked" around.

"Now," whispered Spock.

He grabbed Bones's wrist and dragged the doctor out of the room.


	12. Reunion

Now, all three pairs were on the move: Vivian and Kirk, who were still trying to get warmth back into their bodies via movement; Scotty and Tonia, the latter of whom was carrying her daughter, who was wrapped up in a blanket; and Spock and Bones, who were still running from the suit of armour.

It was Vivian who first spotted anyone else besides Kirk. "Scotty!" she called.

The Scotsman turned and caught sight of Vivian at the end of the corridor. "Viv!"

Vivian, Kirk, Scotty, and Tonia all ran down the corridor towards each other and met in the middle.

"Are you two alright?" Kirk asked.

Scotty nodded, with a look at Tonia. "We're mostly okay, though it got a bit hairy for this lass, Captain."

Kirk took one look at the baby in Tonia's arms and understood. "Congratulations, Tonia," he said.

Tonia gave a weak smile. "Permission for some time away from my duties, Captain."

Kirk also smiled. "Granted, Tonia. Absolutely, granted. In fact, I _order_ you to stay away from your duties for at least six months, probably more."

"Does she have a name?" asked Vivian.

"Not yet," Tonia replied. "I wanted Leonard to help me name her, and we got cut off quite early."

"Cut off?" repeated Kirk.

Scotty explained that he had made it possible for his communicator and Bones's communicator to connect.

"That's very clever, Scotty," commented Vivian.

"Thanks, lassie."

Just then, everyone heard pounding footsteps that sounded like two people running. The four officers prepared themselves, until Spock dragging Bones came running into view. Both officers stopped when they saw the group.

"Toni!"

Bones and Tonia ran towards each other and hugged tightly. "Careful!" said Tonia hurriedly.

They both stepped back and Bones admired the small baby in Tonia's arms. "She's beautiful," whispered Bones.

Tonia held out the baby towards him. Kirk proudly watched as Bones gently took his newborn daughter from his wife and cradled her in his arms. He couldn't stop either the smile or the tears from coming.

Spock placed a hand on Bones's shoulder. "Congratulations, Doctor."

"Thank you, Spock."

Tonia gently stroked the baby's forehead. "What should we call her?" she asked.

"What's your mother's name?" Bones asked.

Tonia gave a short chuckle. "Claudia," she replied.

"Then we will call our daughter Claudia," Bones decided. "How about that?"

"It's a beautiful name," agreed Tonia. "Little Claudia."

Smiling, Vivian turned to look at Kirk, who was gazing at his best friend with such a proud look on his face. Scotty was also smiling. Even Spock looked pleased for his friend.

Just then, there was a creaking sound that sounded like a particularly badly-oiled door opening. The group turned to face where the sound was coming from and saw that that was indeed true: a creaky double door was opening.

"Do we investigate?" asked Vivian.

"Absolutely," replied Kirk and Spock at the same time. They gave each other a look.

Bones gave Claudia back to his wife and again protectively linked arms with Tonia.

With that, the group went through the doors and entered the room.


	13. The Truth

The first thing they saw was that the room was definitely a ballroom of some kind. It was large, grand, and it had two marble staircases flowing opposite each other.

Standing on the stairs was a strange being. He looked like a normal human, except for that fact that his skin was lime green, and he had an abnormally large forehead. He was wearing a dark silver, clearly ceremonial robe, which covered every inch of his body, including his feet and hands.

As the six people came further into the room, he spread his arms out, revealing two sharp hands. "Welcome!" he said theatrically, and it was made clear to all six officers that this was the voice that they had heard when they first came in. "My name is Exhocmundo. Welcome to my castle."

"You're in charge of this castle?" Kirk asked warily.

"Indeed. Do you like it?"

"Are there more of you?" Bones asked snappily, ignoring the question entirely.

"Alas, no. It is just me." Exhocmundo's tone was still light and welcoming. "The rest of my kind is back on my home planet."

"And what planet would that be?" asked Spock.

"Omega-3," replied Exhocmundo.

"That does make sense," Spock told Kirk. "I have not personally visited Omega-3, but I have heard of its beings. It is a planet about a tenth of the size of Earth, and all its inhabitants are this being's species."

"How does he speak English?" Kirk asked in a whisper.

"I am not entirely sure," Spock admitted. "However, it is not unheard of for some beings to teach themselves English. Perhaps that is how he achieved it."

"So what was the purpose of all this?" Vivian called, gesturing with her arm to the walls. "Torturing us?"

"Goodness, no." Exhocmundo actually sounded hurt. "This was all a test."

"A test?" repeated Kirk.

"Yes, a test. A test to see if you humans have the will to overcome fear and survive."

"The suit of armour following us?" Bones snapped. "What was that all about?"

"Ah, a classic." Exhocmundo's expression and tone became wistful, almost dreamy. "Did you like it? Robotic, of course. And the fact that it seemed to teleport? There were actually two suits of armour. The one that grabbed you then turned invisible once you had walked past it, and the other one turned visible just as you walked into it. Added a sense of thrilling danger to it, did it not?"

"Thrilling danger?" Bones repeated angrily. "That thing almost killed me and Spock!"

"Ah yes. The thrill of the chase, and the thrill of danger. Made for quite a good watch. I have half a mind to turn it into a movie."

"Why, you-!"

Bones started furiously forwards but Tonia and Scotty grabbed his elbows and restrained him.

"You were watching us?" Spock inquired.

"Every moment. Except for her." Exhocmundo waved a careless hand in Tonia's direction. "Giving birth. Nasty."

Bones almost burst a vein on his forehead. "She wouldn't have had to give birth in here if you hadn't locked us in this godforsaken castle!" he snarled. "She could have died!"

" _Did_ she?" asked Exhocmundo amicably.

Bones's anger dissipated slightly. "No," he admitted. His voice rose again. "But she could have! What if she had needed a C-section or a different operation that we couldn't have given her down here? If you hadn't locked her in here, we could have beamed her back to the Enterprise where she could have given birth in a proper sickbay!"

"Doctor, beaming a woman while she is giving birth is definitely not advisable," said Spock. "Mrs McCoy would have had to have the child outside on the savannah."

Bones didn't even look at the first officer. Without missing a beat, he shouted, "Better out there than in here!"

"Leonard," said Tonia quietly, tightening her grip on her husband's arm. "It's okay."

But Vivian shared Bones's anger. "And us?" she snarled. "Captain Kirk and I nearly froze to death!"

"But you didn't," Exhocmundo pointed out.

"THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!" bellowed Vivian. "DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE YOUR BODY TEMPERATURE DROP TO WELL BELOW WHERE IT SHOULD BE? IT FEELS LIKE AGONY!" She lowered her voice slightly. "Perhaps not matching the agony of giving birth, but we were dying in there! What if we hadn't been able to find a way out? Would you have dropped the temperature even more and let us freeze to death?"

"I don't think you want me to answer that question," said Exhocmundo calmly.

 _"_ _Why?"_ Vivian hissed. "What was the _point_ of these tests where we all nearly died?"

"Learning, Miss Walker," replied Exhocmundo, his tone growing slightly more serious. "My people and I wish to learn more about the human race, and how they react to fear and extreme situations."

"You were extremely close to violating Federation law," said Kirk warningly. "You must not do this kind of thing again. If you must observe and learn more about humans, then go peacefully to Earth and disguise yourselves whilst walking among them."

"While I agree it was not the most thought-out of tests, I have to admit that I have no regrets. It was a lot of fun watching you all."

Kirk and Scotty grimaced. "That was the wrong thing tae say," remarked Scotty quietly.

Bones and Vivian would both have charged Exhocmundo and attacked him, had Kirk and Spock not been holding the science officer back, and Tonia and Scotty not been holding the doctor back.

"Fun!" roared Vivian. "You better make sure I never see you again, because if I do, I swear, I will knock you on your-!"

"I just have one final query," interrupted Spock. "I assume your castle was hidden to us by the same means as the suits of armour were hidden to the doctor and myself?"

"Your assumption is correct, Mr Spock."

"If I may ask, how exactly was this feat accomplished?"

"You _may_ ask, Mr Spock. And I shall answer: we have a rare material on Omega-3 that essentially mimics the properties of the Earth animal known as a chameleon. It camouflages anything from view. It was only a matter of time on our planet until we found a way to control the camouflage. The suits of armour and the outside of the castle both have this material in them. At the proper time, I flick a switch, and BLINK! It's gone. BLINK! It's back. Clever, eh?"

"It certainly is fascinating," said Spock.

"So now you've had your _fun_ ," growled Bones. "May we leave your castle of fear and death?"

"But of course," replied Exhocmundo with a wave of his hand. "I bid you farewell, Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, Montgomery Scott, Vivian Walker, Doctor McCoy, and Tonia Barrows."

"My name is Tonia McCoy," said Tonia, showing the first hint of aggression that she had displayed since entering the room.

Exhocmundo inclined his head. "Of course. Now, I shall open the doors, and you shall all go home."


	14. Epilogue

Kirk relaxed into his chair on the bridge of the Enterprise. He sighed happily. "I missed this seat," he said.

Spock, who was seated back at his station, looked over at Kirk. "I too feel a certain sense of relief at being back in familiar surroundings."

"In other words, Mr Spock, that castle made you scared too," teased Bones as he entered the bridge and leaned on the back of Spock's chair.

Spock swivelled in his chair to look at the doctor. "I never said anything of the sort, Doctor," he said, looking a little put-out.

"Sure, Spock."

"Vulcans cannot experience fear," Spock went on.

"Sure," said Bones again. "But you're not 100% Vulcan, are you?"

He cheerfully patted Spock on the shoulder and headed over to Kirk, who asked, "Did Vivian and Scotty pass their physicals?"

"Scotty did," replied Bones. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with him. Vivian, however, has contracted a mild form of pneumonia which will act like a cold for the next twenty days, give or take. I've taken off her duties for that length of time so she can recover. She'll be in her quarters, mostly."

"And Tonia?"

"Nurse Chapel assisted me in her physical," Bones replied. "She'll be unsteady on her feet for a while, and since her labour was both two weeks early and abnormally short, she'll have some rather strong abdomen pain quite frequently, but I have already prescribed her some pain medicine, and she and the baby are doing fine."

"Claudia," Kirk said aloud. "It really is a pretty name."

"In Latin and Spanish, "Claudia" means "lame"," said Hikaru Sulu, who had swivelled in his chair.

Kirk and Bones both gave the helmsman hard stares.

"But…it is very pretty too," Sulu added feebly.

"Thank you for that comment, Mr Sulu," said Kirk with a slightly amused smile. "Now, take us out."

As the Enterprise entered warp speed, nobody noticed the strange blue mist that had just seeped into the ventilation system.


End file.
